Vote!

“Vote!” they snarl, “It’s your civic duty! Otherwise, you can’t complain about our illegal wars, and legalized bribes, our immoral killing, and institutionalized theft. It’s the moral thing for you to do.”

“Vote!” they cajole, “Be on the winning team. Our team won’t lie as much. Our thugs are nicer than theirs. You’ll feel like you matter. Yay, team!”

“Vote!” they insist, “Your one vote really matters! Your one vote is so important to us. IF it can make it through our suppression, fraud, hacking and gerrymandering, of course. THEN it really matters. Really.”

“Vote!” they simper, “and vote your conscience. Unless your conscience tells you to vote third party. Then you are a despicable enemy to all, and must die.”

“Vote!” they cheer, “It’s democracy in action! The will of the people! And here’s the perfect candidate to take on the other team. Right here. No, not there, here. But don’t worry your little heads about that, we’ve got it covered.”

“Vote!” they purr, “It really makes a difference. The people who buy us and OUR votes pay a lot more when we get ourselves elected. A LOT more. Nice!”

“Vote!” they whisper, “and then go back to sleep. We’ll have another show for you in two more years, and THAT will be the year that real change happens…we promise.”

(Photo by Bryan Minear on Unsplash)